Troy Baker is a PhD student in the Soft Mechatronics for Biorobotics Lab at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa. He earned a Masters of Research in Bioengineering from Imperial College London and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. At Imperial, Troy did research with electro-static actuators and volunteered with the university’s prosthetic society. His research goals involve embodied intelligence in the design of bio-inspired robotics. Troy works under the Marie Curie funded Maestri project to develop actuators for demonstrating the use of magnetic materials in robotics.
Lucija Drempetić is a PhD student at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, working at the Department for Materials Synthesis of the Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. During her studies, she conducted research on cobalt complex compounds and polyoxometalates, with a focus on different synthesis approaches and characterization methods for the synthesized compounds. Lucija works under the Marie Curie-funded Maestri project in the development of magnetoactive elastomers and magnetic liquids for robotic applications.
Arne Geldof is currently pursuing a PhD in physics at the University of Ljubljana. With a Master of Science in Photonics Engineering from the Universities of Ghent and Brussels and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ghent, Arne brings a diverse academic background to his research. During his time in Ghent, he explored the fabrication of optical sensing structures in glass using a femtosecond laser. His current research revolves around developing optical response-based feedback and manipulation mechanisms to control soft robotic components made from magnetoactive elastomers.